The Siren Song (Book 2)
Details Captain Jack Sparrow's ship, the Barnacle, and its up-till-now unshakable crew have suddenly fallen under a sinister spell. While continuing on their quest for the storied Sword of Cortés, the crew suddenly finds itself entranced by an ethereal song. As a result, each of them attempts to take the Barnacle in a different direction—and away from the Sword’s supposed location. Only Jack seems unaffected by the strange song, but can he both subdue his crew and defeat the mysterious force behind the dark spell? "The Siren Song" is the second installment of the sword of cortes story ark and book set Plot Captain Jack Sparrow and the rest of the crew of the Barnacle are in fast pursuit of the infamous pirate Left-Foot Louis, who has made off with the magical Sword of Cortés, when they hear a faint, ghostly sound begin to emanate from the sea, captivating everyone aboard the ship except Jack. Once the sound dies down, the crew discover to their awe that enormous "mountain of an island" has mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. Jack decides to sail towards the island (despite Fitzwilliam's objections), insisting that when something so out of the ordinary takes place, it is best to ascertain why it happend as this often will lead to "great power and treasure". As they sail toward the island, the crew begin to hear the same mystifying wailing from before, once again mezmerizing everyone aboard the ship except Jack (who describes it as "god-awful noise"). Just as the song dies down again, the Barnacle is suddenly attacked by a giant sea beast with the body of an eel, "ruby red eyes" and rows of teeth "like a shark's".A sea beast attacking the Barnacle. After a fierce battle with the beast, Jack manages to gut it down its length with his sword and quips that the crew now has "boatloads of meat for the rest of the journey". As the Barnacle resumes its course toward the island, the ethereal music starts up again. Jack thinks its the howling of another sea beast and begins to prepare for battle, only to find his fellow shipmates in a complete trance. As the sound grows louder, Jack realizes its actually a song and fights to resist the haunting melody's attempts to take over his brain. The next day, Jack's crew members all spontaneously decide that the quest to find the Sword is pointless. Fitzwilliam, Jean, and Tumen each attempt to take the Barnacle in a different direction (Fitzwilliam wants to go buy a position as an officer in the army, Jean wants to go to Tia Dalma's shack to have Constance restored to her human form, and Tumen wants to be left on the sandy beaches of the Yucatán). Jack manages to knock Fitzwilliam, Jean, and Tumen unconscious and tie them (as well as Constance) to the mainmast. Arabella, who had been strangely transfixed by the sea throughout the day, tells Jack that she wants to be with her mother. When Jack reminds her that her mother is dead, Arabella decides that if death is the only way for her and her mother to be reunited, then "so be it". She suddenly throws herself overboard, leaving it up to Jack to dive in after her. As Jack attempts to rescue her a stunningly beautiful mermaid appears and begins attacking him and Arabella. As he attempts to stave her off, an entire legion of mermaids suddenly arrive and pursue him as he fights to make his way to the surface. Jack manages to get Arabella aboard the ship and resuscitate her before tying her up to the mainmast with the others. A frustrated and confused Jack then begins shouting at the "Scaly Tails" below the sea, and a pale hand suddenly appears out of the water and beckons Jack into the ocean. Jack then feels himself being mysteriously pulled downward into the water, where he is caught up in a whirlpool and dragged deep below the ocean depths. Just as he feels as if his lungs are about to burst, he is spat out into a lair within the mysterious island where a gathering of mermaids await him. Jack quickly realizes that, when viewed peripherally, the mermaids no longer look beautiful, but rather appear to have fangs, tentacles, and barnacles and boils all over their scales. The mermaids' three blue-tailed leaders explain that they are the agents of the Sirens and begin to interrogate Jack for daring to explore Isla Sirena. Jack reveals that he and his crew are after the Sword of Cortés, and the mermaids propose a deal to let Jack and his mates resume their quest but demand that once they find the Sword, they have to return to Isla Sirena and give them whatever it is that Jack values most. Jack initially declines, mistakenly assuming they're talking about the Sword of Cortés, but the blue-tails explain that "not all treasure is silver and gold". This prompts Jack to conclude that whatever the blue-tails are referring to, it can't be that important, so he takes their deal. Before they let him leave however, they demand he gives them Stone-Eyed Sam's stone eye as collateral. As soon as they tell him he is "free" to go, Jack comes to realize that the thing he values most in the world is his freedom, meaning he is now bound to ultimately give up his liberty to the mermaids once he finds the Sword. A green-tailed mermaid guides Jack back into the mystical whirlpool where he's instantly sucked back up to the surface. He quickly makes his way back to the Barnacle as Isla Sirena vanishes once more. Once back aboard the ship, Jack discovers his crew have returned to normal, with no memory of their strange behavior. As they resume their quest to find Left-Foot Louis, they discover that the Scabbard of the Sword of Cortés actually acts as a compass pointing in the direction of the Sword itself. The crew set a new course as directed by the Scabbard, and Jack manages to assuage himself that once they find the Sword, he will be able to get out of his deal with the mermaids, as "Captain Jack Sparrow can find his way out of any mess". Where to Read/Purchase * The book was uploaded to wattpad here * AbeBooks.com * Amazon.com * EBay.com * Your local library! (most libraries have the first 4 books in the series, just not the others)